My stomach was heaving all night. I barely got any rest.  Whatever I ate earlier did not agree with my stomach. The desert air was cool on the eve of the early morning. I broke trail with the sunrise.  I didn't find it necessary to stay at the Theah outpost.  I had gathered my necessary goods, and a few tips on surviving in the shifting sands.

I covered my face in my light colored wrapping, and I 'borrowed' a used pair of sand skis from a shop.  I slid my feet into the compartments, and buckled down the straps. I could slide easily, but the poles could get little traction in the sludgy sands. Luckily, I had a plan for a bit more boost.

I unpacked several empty bottles, and arranged them in a circle on a stone, already radiating heat from the morning sun.  I began my incantation.

It was a beginner level spell, one my mother taught me when I was young.  Captured air could be useful at freshening up some places that had gotten a bit musty.  Simply uncork the bottle, and allow the contents to push out all the stale air.

I was modifying the trick slightly.  When I first attempted to capture air on my own, I made the mistake of over filling the bottle. I brought the vibrating vessel into the house triumphantly.  When I popped the top, I was flung backwards from the gust.  Our house was a mess, and Mother was not pleased. It was a few months before I was allowed to practice spells on my own again.

The incantation was finished, and the bottles each held a faint blue glow, indicating the spell was a success.  The humming nature told me I had got what I wanted. Carefully stringing the bottles tight to my belt, I could feel the vibration coursing through my whole body.  I was a bomb, ready to explode. The lump in my throat was difficult to swallow as I removed my first stopper.  

The wind howled through the narrow opening. The force was so much, it began to sink me into the sands.  I quickly repositioned, and found my idea was a success.  It was slow at first, but the air propelled me effortlessly across the sands.  Once the first bottle was empty, I opened another.

My speed was increasing, and the strange mountain structure that found my interest was getting larger.  By the end of the second boost, I was beginning to lose control.  The sands offered little resistance for me, like floating on a bubble.  Little did I know, this would soon be a major issue.

I was approaching the rock formation at a respectable speed.  I took a moment to take in the scenery.  The dunes were low and wavy.  Piling high only around the scattered mountains.  Quebara, the night before, explained that animals cluster around these safe havens to seek shelter from the blazing son. I got lucky however, seeing another bright, yellow dragon burst from the sands clutching a fat jaqqi in its jaws.  Jaqqi must make easy pickings while they scratch out a trap in the sands. I wonder if it is the same dragon from earlier?

As the mountain range quickly swallowed my scenery, I realized I had an issue. The biggest problem with 'borrowing' some sand skis is, no one teaches you how to stop. I had been skiing twice before, but the sands slowed me down. Which was not the case here, there was something ethereal about these sands.  Rigid enough to hold a mountain, but light enough to carry you effortlessly.  

The shade offered shelter from the heat in the canyon, I found myself in now, and a large boulder had found its way into my path.  The time to stop was quickly coming, and I panicked, falling hard to my side.  I began to slow down as my shoulder dragged into the sands.  However, I knew my mistake when I felt the humming bottle press against my leg. 

I couldn't change my plan, and I sank deeper into the sands.  The pressure on me quickly building. The next thing I knew I found myself lying face up on a flat rock. My body refused. I could only lay, and try to remember. Consuming sands, humming with anticipation,  and a sharp rock buried deep.  A loud bang, followed by a few more, and I was ejected from my encroaching sand tomb, and smattered upon a rock face.  

I coughed, it wasn't a great sign, and there might have been some blood, but at least it was a start.  After a few more coughs I found my first breath.  As my blood flowed, and the ringing in my ears faded, slightly, I soon found myself sitting upright.  The image of my leg at the time must never be described, and I was lucky I could feel nothing from the waist down.  

I looked around at my surroundings, at least I was in the shade. My satchel strap had broken from the explosion, and the bag laid a few feet from me. 

I took several moments to rest, and regain my composure. With all my will, I struggled towards that pack.  The fates were with me that day.  A plump lizard came to inspect the possible meal on their dinner plate, and got caught up in the satchel straps.  Luckily, it flailed the bag into my reach, but not before taking a bite on my finger… the  fled at my yelp.

I pulled the bag closer.  Searching through the pockets, I first came upon the wrapped green stone glowing very faintly in the shadows.  I needed something soon, I would prefer to skip the outpost of Theah's next harvest. Thank the heavens I found what I was looking for, a healing potion in a reinforced vial. I bought it for just such an occasion.

The stopper was difficult to pull out, and only gave as I twisted it in one direction a few times. I dripped a few drops on the back of my hand, as instructed, and licked it off.  The dose needed to be somewhat precise orally, with the rest being administered to the most critical area.  The potion clerk selling the vial, said it created a circuit through me for the magical energies to flow better.  “Makes it twice as effective”, which I needed right now.

As the drops hit my pulp, the effects were almost instantaneous.  The mending was quite painful, as was told to me.  However what topped it, was the sloshing, and squishing sounds. My body had been restored, but at what price mentally?